Outdoor exposed louver



Patented Apr. 12, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE My invention relatesto outdoor exposed louvers and has for its object to provide a louver ofwellknown construction wherein the face frame which is exposed to theweather is a single member formed of some non-corrosive material and inwhich the louver opening formed through the central portion of the faceplate is provided at its corners with specially constructed drainagenotches to inhibit accumulation of water and ice between the face plateand the back frame of the louver.

Louvers of the type herein disclosed, particularly for use inVentilating systems for forcing warm air out of rooms or buildings,comprise a box-like frame member for holding th-e louver blades and aface plate member for securing the louver to the wall through which thebox-like frame part of the louver extends for effecting the Ventilatingarrangement. The face plate and the screen across the opening,therefore, will be exposed to weather and quite frequently will be wetwith rain, snow, sleet or the like.

The opening through the face plate is customarily closed by a meshscreen, the edges of which come between the face plate and the edges ofthe louver frame.

A serious diiiiculty has been encountered in connection with theplacement of such louvers, by reason of the fact that water from rain,sleet, melting snow and the like runs down along the vertical wires ofthe screen member andcreeps in between the wooden frame of the louverand the overlying parts of the face plate.

This water, particularly along the lower edge of the louver opening andto a degree along the side edges and even the top edge, tends to remainin a layer over the edges of the screen and the edges of the louverframe to which the screen is attached.

The result has been that freezing has at times loosened or broken theface plate, that rusting of the screen will ultimately take place, andnot infrequently rotting of the frame member may and does take place.Also wherethe face plate is made of strips of material secured to thelouver frame there has been a tendency for these strips to warp andseparate at the joints.

I have discovered a very simple means of overcoming these difficulties.First I construct the face plate of the louver of some strong, hard anddurable non-corrosive material such as a rigid composition board ofwhich masonite is an example, and I make this face plate of one integralcontinuous piece with the opening to the screen and the louver bladescut from this piece.

Second, I provide at the corners of this opening notches cut back fromthe edges of the face plate in both directions so the notches come outover the edges of the .union of the face plate with the louver frame andacross the ends of the vertical screen strands and have the effect ofbringing about gravity drainage of water which otherwise wouldaccumulate along the screen edges between the face plate and the edgesof the louver frame.

It is a principal object of my invention therefore to provide a faceplate for the louver which will be formed of one single unbroken piece,preferably of some hard, durable and non-cor rosive material, such as arigid composition board, and which has formed along the regious of itscentral part a louver opening, backed by a mesh screen over the louverblades.

It is a further object of my invention to form at the corners of theface plate means which enables the moisture to be drained away from theline of junction of the face plate and the louver frame.

It is a further object of my invention to form these drainage means asnotches at the corners of the louver opening, cut back in bothdirections into the face plate to points on the screen along the linesof junction of the face plate and the louver frame, with the screenbetween them. The full objects and advantages of my invention willappear in connection with thedetailed description thereof which will nowbe given in the following specification, and the novel features of myinvention by which the advantageous and useful results above enumeratedare obtained will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating an application of my invention in one ofits forms:

Fig.`1 is a front plan elevation view of my improved louver showing inparticular the face plate itself, the louver opening through it, thenotches therein at the corners of the opening, and the screen back ofthe face plate at its edges and across the opening.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the louver taken on line2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of my invention taken on line3-3-3 of Figs. l and 2.

As illustrated,-a louver box is formed of any suitable material, whichVcomprises end walls Il) and II, side walls I2 and I3 and holding stripsI4 and I5, as indicated specifically in Fig. 3. This frame in and ofitself is open at top and bottom.

The side members are provided with a series of slots I 6 which receivethe ends of louver blades I'I as best shown in Fig. 3. The slots I6extend diagonally across the side walls I2 and I3 and are held inposition by the holding strips I4 and I5 as clearly indicated in Figs. 2and 3. The box-like structure above described is held together bystaples I8 as indicated generally in Fig. 3. Also by nails 21 across theside walls I2 and I3 to the end walls I0 and II. The louver blades

